1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a clothes washing machine of the type in which the washing is received in a drum, which can be rotated about a substantially horizontal axis within a fixed tank or container.
More specifically, the invention relates to a washing machine in which the washing is loaded and unloaded through at least one external access door provided in the fixed tank and at least one drum door located in the circumferential wall of the drum.
Although usable in all washing machines having the aforementioned characteristics, the invention more particularly applies to those having a large or very large capacity, such as those used in commercial establishments. In such washing machines, the interior of the drum is sometimes subdivided into two compartments by a radial partition, access to each compartment being provided by a separate drum door. The tank is then equipped with two external access doors, respectively intended for the loading and unloading of the washing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Compared with washing machines in which the washing is loaded and unloaded by means of a single front door located in the axial extension of the drum, washing machines in which loading and unloading take place from above or the side have the advantage of supporting the drum at its two ends.
However, front loading washing machines have the advantage of giving easy access to the interior of the drum by opening a single door. In the case of machines loaded and unloaded from the top or side, access to the interior of the drum requires the successive opening of the external access door and the drum door.
In washing machines loaded and unloaded from the top or side, the door of the drum conventionally comprises two leaves articulated on the circumferential wall of the drum by two hinges oriented parallel to the axis thereof. Locking and unlocking of the door are ensured by a mechanism interposed between the two leaves and which can be in different forms.
A first, frequently used locking mechanism comprises clips, which project to the outside along the edge of one of the drum door leaves, so as to be able to enter notches formed in the adjacent edge of the other leaf. In order to unlock the mechanism, it is necessary to press a button installed on the leaf carrying the clips, so as to pivot the two door leaves slightly towards the interior of the drum in order to free the clips from the notches. The other door leaf then opens automatically under the action of torsion springs associated with the hinge thereof. The same applies with respect to the leaf carrying the clips, as soon as the button is no longer pressed.
In large and very large capacity washing machines loaded and unloaded from the top or side, equipped with such a drum door locking mechanism, the need to press the leaves in towards the interior of the drum for unlocking the door represents a supplementary disadvantage.
Thus, the weight of the washing processed during each washing-drying cycle is considerable and the peripheral speeds reached by the circumferential door of the drum during the final drying operation are very high. Thus, the washing is subject to a centrifugal force such that it is in the form of a hard "wafer", which is engaged against the cylindrical wall of the drum, when all the washing and drying operations are ended. In view of the fact that the drum door is integrated into the cylindrical wall, the washing wafer is also formed behind said door. Due to the fact that the unlocking of the drum door requires a pressing in of its two leaves, the washing disk formed at the end of the washing-drying cycle constitutes an obstacle making the opening of the door ever more difficult as the capacity of the machine increases.
There are other drum door locking mechanisms, such as link-based mechanisms, slide-based mechanisms and hook-based mechanisms, in which the opening of the door takes place without pressing the leaves into the interior of the drum. However, these mechanisms suffer from other disadvantages such as a more fragile nature, a higher cost, etc. In addition, they do not eliminate the disadvantage common to all washing machines loaded and unloaded from the top or side, which is the necessity to open two doors to obtain access to the interior of the drum.